SeeVer

The theme chosen
for Congress 2015 – "See" – flows from the blind man's
extraordinary encounter in John 9:1-41. Reflecting on this amazing scenario
our imaginations are stretched, we are drawn to see beneath the surface and
discover the paradox: the blind man is the one who sees while the seeing
ones are entombed in their own darkness.

Spiritual blindness is at the center of the exchange and the challenge for
all is to see at a deeper level, see with the heart as suggested in the
following dialog:

"Why is
everyone here so happy except me?" asked the disciple.
"Because they have learned to see goodness and beauty everywhere," said
the Master.
"Why don't I see goodness and beauty everywhere?"
"Because you cannot see outside of you what you fail to see inside."

God is at work
in the world right now performing miracles, sharing life and light. Can we
see God's wondrous deeds? Are we mindful of God's presence in all of life,
in creation, in joy, in pain and in struggle? God is there. Where are we?
Novelist Paulo Coelho, author of "The Alchemist" says, “You can become blind
by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is different; each day
brings a miracle of its own.”

We are encouraged then to renew our vision, open up to the life-changing
Light of Christ, and lead others to See anew.

Hope: A World AfireEsperanza que Enciende al Mundo

Hope: A World Afire flows from the word
proclaimed on the second Sunday of Lent. Hope
rooted in grace and goodness shines brightly on
the face of Jesus. As we reflect on this
Transfiguration moment, we too are drawn into
that incredible experience. In the presence of
the HOLY, we become shining stars of hope.

Light is not always our experience but it can
always be our hope. Maya Angelou suggests that
"God puts rainbows in the clouds so that each of
us in our darkest and most dreaded moments can
see a possibility of hope.” Believing in the
brightness even in the midst of the sometimes
cloudiness and knowing that the fruit of hope is
boldness, we commit to light fires of hope and
set our world ablaze with outreach to the hungry
poor, the spiritually fragile ones.

Enter the MysteryEntra al Misterio

Morning dawns and we awake
to the wonder of God within us, around us and beyond us. We enter the
mystery of the One who creates a world brimming with life and vitality;
gifts us with Jesus and promises to remain with us through the power of
the Spirit – source of love and spark of God.

Jesus – the climax of God’s
self-giving and the reflection of God's glory comes to renew, fulfill
and draw us into the mystery of our own deepest yearnings – our longing
for God.
Yet, we can miss these stirrings, this visitation as the poet Elizabeth
Barrett Browning so aptly proclaims:

Earth's crammed with
heaven
And every common bush afire with God
But only he who sees takes off his shoes
The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.

The theme Enter the Mystery bids us to look with new eyes and
discover God’s creative presence woven into the fabric of our rich Faith
story: our beliefs, our rituals and our great spiritual traditions.

We, likewise pause to
marvel at the mystery of ourselves created in the image and likeness of
God and called now to mirror this divine essence spilled out for all of
creation.

Voice Infusing Life Voz que infunde vida

“Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)
…and so it was from the beginning, the Voice of God rang out,
infusing all of creation with abundant life. At other times,
this “still small voice” calms troubled spirits, enabling all to
reach for new horizons.

A familiar voice stirring with the harmonies of care and reassurance
awakened Lazarus and returned him to life, energy and renewed vitality.

Ours is a God whose voice resounds in the depth of our being calling us away
from old habits, inviting us to embrace more wholesome ones. And today ... the
voice reverberates and we echo God’s voice infusing
life – giving hope, refreshing spirits.

Hold Firm ... Trust!Mantente Firme ... ¡Confía!

Our Congress
theme, “Hold Firm … Trust!” draws us into the outrageous love of a God
who steadfastly accompanies us on the journey, steadies us in times of
challenge, and leads us to refreshment and renewal.

The prophet
Jeremiah likens the one who trusts, to a tree by the waterside that does
not fear even in year of drought. Nourished at its roots by the rich
soil it grows and expands through all seasons.

Drawing wisdom
from this image, we are confident that if we dip into the rich soil of
God’s presence, are centered on a power greater than ourselves; we too
will flourish and grow through seasons of dark and light.

Incredible AbundanceIncreíble Abundancia

Congress 2010 draws us
into the story of God’s Incredible Abundance overflowing in love and
compassion and echoed down through the centuries.

To the exiles it is
promise of restoration, reminder of a life-giving Spirit, and in Jesus
it is a celebration of the wonder and power of a God who revives and
revitalizes.

The poet Brendan
Kenneally writes:"Life rises from the crowded clay of doom,Light dying promises the light-reborn."

New life and light
emerging from the crowded clay of doom fills us with courage. The
forces of death and despair are overcome; stones and grit that block the
flow of life are removed at Jesus’ word. In our emptiness a gracious
hand is reaching out lifting us up and even in difficult moments we see
with the eyes of faith that there is potential for new life. We take to
heart the words of Jesus “I came that they may have life and have it
abundantly” (John 10:10).

Embracing this incredible
abundance we trust that it is never too late for God to invigorate and
revitalize a person, a church, a world.

Covenant Love poured out and at the heart of all creation continues to unfold, drawing us ever more profoundly into the embrace of a lavish God. This wondrous relationship, this love unbounded deepens and develops over time, grows through seasons of dark and light, always nudging us to remember and hold fast to the promise.

Love unfolding is the way of Jesus, calling his disciples to
"come and see" and now calling us into deeper friendship and interconnection with Him and with all of life. This bond of oneness, this fastening of the spirit to God sustains us on the path, generates and ignites a fresh energy and propels us to give voice to our “yes” anew.

Lift Your Gaze ... See Anew!¡Alza tu mirada ... Vuelve a mirar!

Our theme, "Lift Your Gaze
...
See Anew!" nudges us to widen our horizons, bid farewell to whatever
may cloud our vision or dim our spirits and glimpse again all the beautywithin us and around us.
Gazing with eyes of the heart we discover the divine spark at the center
of all of creation and at the heart of all human experiences.

The poet William Blake
reminds us, “Unless the eye catch fire, God will not be seen.” Seeing
anew, our eyes truly catch fire and we go forth to invite others to open
up to the wisdom and liberation of “God’s sight” – to see beyond – to
imagine a future filled with possibility.

Stand in the LightPermanecer en la luz

Light poured out wraps all of creation in beauty, in
warmth, in love and in solace. The invitation, “Stand in the Light,”
nudges us to bask in the incredible radiance of a God whose glory,
brightness, penetrates everyone, everything and everywhere.

Standing in the Light we touch this all pervasive
presence and recognize our inner glory because of it. Christ’s Light
shining in our hearts pouring energy and inspiration into us can be a
powerful revealer of truth if we allow it to pierce the dark corners of
our lives and transform us anew.

Acknowledging that "Heaven’s brightness flows from me to you,
and on behalf of God, I say that’s right"(B. Kenneally)
we dare to be that brightness and go on co-creating our world so that
all might live in peace and right relationship.

Step into FreedomPaso a la Libertad

The theme for Congress 2006,
Step Into Freedom, flows from the command of Christ to Lazarus and
to us: unbind… unwrap… roll away the stone… come forth to a life that is
brand new. The command signals us to pause and remember the words of the
poet David Whyte,

"anything or anyone that does not bring you alive is too small for you."

And so we ask, what
imprisons, entombs, shuts us down and robs us of spirit? Not only are the burdens of
weakness, the threat of terrorism, daily sources of anxiety and fear but
it seems harder each day to protect the unity of our communities from
the pressures arising from our personal and social sinfulness.Jesus is the one who gives
life, raises hope and calls us to an appreciation of the vast
spaciousness, wide-openness of a God who invites us to leave behind all
that enslaves and stand fast by the liberty which Christ has made for
us. Faith in Christ as resurrection and life brings fresh stirrings of
divine life and ultimately true freedom. We then are challenged to
Step into Freedom, witness to our new life in Christ, and place our
lives and ministry at the service of God’s people in the world.

Awake to GraceDespierten a la Gracia

The grace of God has appeared on
earth bringing salvation to all (Titus 2:11). All around us, even within
reach of our senses, abound stirrings of this all-encompassing presence. Yet,
it is easy to miss the prompting, miss the grace hidden in the joys, the
hopes, the beauty, as well as in the contradictions, pain and struggle.

Our theme, “Awake to Grace,” shakes
us out of our inattentiveness, our complacency. Summoned to wake up, we
discover grace in places, situations, where we would not expect it at all:
around us, among the littlest, the poorest, in the still small voices, in the
loud clamors for change, renewal and transformation – and no less in the
deepest core of ourselves where the birth of Christ unceasingly repeats
itself.

"
'Steeped in Mercy, Balm for the
World' invites us to 'walk out of ourselves' and plunge into the
oceans of God’s mercy. Steeped in this lavish shower of God’s
boundless compassion, we blossom anew. Strengthened
and refreshed, we dare to let the voices of a world in need echo in our hearts.
And
in the power of the Spirit, we press forward as messengers of unlimited mercy,
healing balm, singers of new life."

"Living
in a time of uncertainty, distrust, darkness, we stand firm, confident of God's
brightness in the midst of the pain. Our hope is centered on trust in an
all-embracing God dwelling in the darkness as much as in the light. Strengthened
by God's constant coming, God's desire to restore and renew, God's assurance
that 'all will be well,' we step out to be 'Bearer of Hope, Restoring
Spirit.' "

Gift Overflowing, A World Transformed

Don Derramado, Mundo Transformado

"Gift
of God overflowing in creation, beckons us to
gaze on our world with eyes of love and behold the splendor, the beauty of God.
Gift poured out in Christ through the power of the Spirit, refreshes, heals and
connects the entire community of life. Led by the Spirit, we walk with great
reverence for the Earth and its creatures, we open our hearts to God's
transforming presence and give glory to the one whose power working in us restores."

"The theme of the 2001 Religious Education Congress speaks of God's boundless love poured out in Christ
through the power of the Spirit and embracing all of life. Graced by the
initiating waters of Baptism, we are clothed in love, drawn into relationship
and summoned to go forth to draw others into the mystery of Trinitarian love.
In gratitude we celebrate God's delight in us and give ourselves to God's
desire for us, to live lives of righteousness and praise."

"Our theme invites
us to journey toward the future with a hope that inspires confidence and an
assurance that God is always with us. It is the hope of the Chosen People of
Abraham who were blessed abundantly by the promises of God to Isaac. Women
such as Sarah and Rebecca kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation, and the
psalmists called us to be "stouthearted and put our hope in God."
Through the gift of Jesus, God keeps us in the "Hope that does not
disappoint" (Rm. 5:5). And we are reminded to "Rejoice in hope, be
patient in tribulation" (1 Thess. 5:8). And so our rich tradition of
hope-filled men and women remind us to take courage as we break new ground
and open up new paths in the new millennium. It is this hope that beckons us
to shout Jubilee as we celebrate Jesus among us and reach out in
reconciliation to a world in need of healing"

"Congress
1999 promises to be a gift, offering new hope, new wisdom, new enthusiasm
for sharing the marvels of our Catholic sacred story and traditions. The
theme "Lead with Eyes of Wisdom" beckons us to reaffirm our call
to leadership in religious education and related ministries, and like the
women and men of our scriptural tradition, we too, are challenged to listen
to the wisdom within us and beyond us, and out of this experience go forth
with conviction and courage to lead others to embrace the Gospel message.
The exciting workshop, community gatherings, liturgical celebration and
varied evening events will be sources of new life for all."

Imaging
Love: Empowering LivesReflejando Amor: Dando Poder

The
theme "Imaging Love: Empowering Lives" invites us to open up our
hearts to experience the pouring out of God's outrageous, enduring,
persistent, generous love ... a love that affirms, heals, challenges and gives
meaning to our lives and to our ministry.

Standing in the presence of
this enduring love "we, through the power of the Holy Spirit," are
changed into mirror images of God. We become like God in the values that we
choose to live by, in our attitude toward others, in our commitment to be at
the service of the brother and sister and in our openness to forgive and to
reconcile. We indeed put on the mind of Christ and live His vision.

Out of this freeing,
life-giving stance, we go forth in ministry to empower others to stand tall,
to embrace a Gospel vision of life, to believe in God, to believe in
themselves. This belief comes from a conviction that God's love powerful in us
transforms, renews and "flows from you to me" as the poet Brendan
Kenneally so beautifully writes, "Heaven's brightness flows from you to
me and on behalf of God, I say that's right."